Swimming on Land?

A ship is always safe at the shore – but that is not what it is built for ­– Albert Einstein

 I am well aware of the front crawl, the dog paddle, the butterfly stroke and the breaststroke. I also know about the treading water and the swimming kick. But I do not know how to swim. It is some irony to know about something and yet not know it. I watch the Olympic Games and marvel at the relative ease at which the athletes glide through water. At the back of my mind I know that if you drop me into any pool I can only travel in one direction – down – and even that unintentionally.

If I really wanted to swim I cannot remain on land or simply read about strokes on the internet. No level of information can actually teach me to swim if I do not get into the pool.

As it is with swimming so it is with every aspect of your success journey. If you would learn and succeed at anything you must take the leap of faith and dive into it. Experience comes only with practice. I often remind myself that writers write, singers sing, preachers preach. Of a truth, the way to identify a tree or a person is by the kind of fruit produced.

In line with this, two things stop folks from living their dreams. The first is the fear of the untested. We often allow the darkness of fear to envelop our hearts. If you are in such a situation I suggest you give room for the light of courage to bring a glorious illumination all around you.

The second is the gruesome voice of sameness that speaks through your mental airwaves telling you, “You are not ready,” and, “It isn’t time.” You must change the dial and listen rather to the sweet melodious rhythm which says, “Now is the right time for your salvation.” There will never be a perfect time to do what you intend to do. If you wait until the wind and the weather are just right, you will never plant anything and you will never harvest anything.

God first!

In the beginning God … ­– Genesis

It is in our revised culture to celebrate the beginnings of things. A child is born and we celebrate the beginning of a life. Admission is gained into a high institution and we matriculate with as much pomp as we can afford. Your dream girl says yes and you empty your account to make the beginning of your lives together a memorable one. Every year a day comes where you mark a birthday and look earnestly with hope at the beginning of the rest of your life.

I love beginnings. I believe that it is important we that we give it them the best we can because after all they only come once in a lifetime. I will like, though, to bring to our attention the need to place God first in every beginning. I like God’s entrance into the Bible. It very simply says: “In the beginning God …”.  To be sincere I do not think that is too much of an introduction. It contains no explanation as to who he is and does not give room for prior knowledge. It assumes that you will accept every word written in the phrase.

From a symbolic point of view this is exactly the same way we should handle every beginning in our lives. We should be able to affirm:

In the beginning of my year God …

In the beginning of my marriage God …

In the beginning of my career God …

In the beginning of my business God …

In the beginning of my studies God …

In the beginning of each day God …

When we have this disposition we are aligned on a proper platform to succeed in every endeavor. We do not need to understand completely who he is. We do not need to be fixated on the eschatological knowledge of his being. All we need to do is acknowledge him first. I conclude with this piece of advice from the wisest man that ever lived:

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;

Don’t try to figure out everthing on your own.

Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;

He’s the one who will keep you on track.

Don’t assume you know it all.

        Run to God!
                                                   {CLICK HERE to view more articles on God by the same author}

Intentional Education

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” – Mahatma Gandhi

I am a strong voice behind the need for necessary self-education. I believe that beyond what we learn in the schools system we must engage ourselves in developing our minds. This would require several hours and days of continual “boring” work. Self-education is the platform upon which you can determine your own progress.

Unfortunately, I have realized two pitfalls for self-education in our societies. The first is that many-a-folk don’t see the dire need for it. They probably wonder why they should endure all the stress. I met a man at the mechanic workshop some days ago. I was reading the Autobiography of Martin Luther King (Jnr) at the time. We got talking and he remarked that he no longer reads because reading has been left to the rich. This came as a big surprise to me as I have never thought of anything in that line. By this he meant that the poor were too preoccupied with poverty to read. I promptly, but kindly, told him that even if we were to take his assertion as true, then it is the poor that must be found with a book everywhere they went.

The second is the compulsion that those who actually read have to irrelevant information. I was for a long time trapped in this. My library was filled with motivational books of all kinds. To my frustration I felt these books did little more than arouse my emotions and leave me with dissatisfaction. It was not until I realized that I was carrying it out the wrong way. To educate and develop my mind I needed to read books related to the fields I wanted to be outstanding in then intermittently bring in a motivational literature. What I mean is if you want to be the best manufacturer of furniture in your city, your library should be filled with books on types of wood, wood finishing, business and factory ethics, etc., and not books on motivational public speaking.

        Educate yourself intentionally. The purpose for self-education should determine the process. Make sure your aim for self-education is clearly defined then get books and other sources of information which teach you exactly how to achieve your aim. Without this you would probably be stuck with some crazy novels whilst you think that you are educating yourself. 

Immobile Progress

“I am a slow walker but I never walk back.” – Abraham Lincoln (US President)

It is possible for me to sometimes get obsessed with making progress. It may come from a sincere desire to make life better for me and my family members or it may come from a competitive disposition when I compare myself with others. Irrespective of what motivates me, what I really want is to make progress.

Progress is sweet. It is good to see that the steps I am taking toward my goals are bringing fruits. Unfortunately there are times when it seems as if my progress has stopped. It suddenly seems that I have hit a brick wall in my success journey. It is true – but rather simplistic – for me to console myself with: “It is all part of the success journey,” until I realized a liberating concept that I am about to share with you.

I believe that the two most important parameters to anyone’s success is whether the person is on the right path and whether the person is taking the right steps at the right time. For as long as these two are satisfied, success is assured irrespective of mobility. By this I mean that the fact that you are not moving is not a prove that you are not making progress.

If, for example, you are in journey to a place and you are suddenly stalled to a spot for two hours by a traffic jam. You get annoyed and curse the cause of the impasse but you do not conclude that you have failed in your journey. You don’t do this because you know that you are on the right path and in a matter of time you will get to your destination. Also, you realize that every minute that passes by you edge closer to moving forward than you were a minute before. This means you have made progress (with respect to time) even though you have not left the spot.

This concept is the same with your success journey. You may find yourself deadlocked and immobile but for as long as you know you are on the right path, your success is simply a matter of time. Also, even though you may be in the same situation you were months earlier, you know that as long as time has passed you are not on the same spot.
                          {For Articles on Progress Click Here}

If you understand this you will cut yourself some slack because you are simply making immobile progress. 

Are You Making Progress in a Rat Race?

“You are the part of rat race because you are letting them treat you like a rat. This is the modern definition of a slave.” – Saurabh Sharma (Author)

Have you been in a situation where you get tired every other day and yet wonder if the energy you exert daily is worth the effort? Does it seem to you sometimes that you are taking two steps forward and three backward? Wake up! You may be in a rat race.

I remember once watching a film that had a scene in a science laboratory. It had in it a rat that continually ran earnestly in a spinning circle. It was obvious that the rat was exerting a lot of energy and was “thinking” that by running fast enough it was making progress in getting away from his captors. Little did it know that it was caught up in a vicious cycle.

Many of us are like that rat (no insult intended). We are caught up in a race and we have been exerting all our energies, creative abilities, finances, and intent in winning. Little do we know that the fact that we are running does not mean we are progressing.

A rat race is put upon us by a system. In this system things have a pattern in which they must operate. We are simply a part of this pattern and nothing more. We are expected to do the same things over and over until “expertise” is attained. At this point we are either promoted or paid higher for our “contributions”. Little do we know that the promotion or pay increase is not different from a bigger spinning circle given to a laboratory rat.

To make progress you must be on your own unique path. You must be pursuing a predetermined goal and taking premeditated actions toward it. Progress is intentional. It does not come on you but you work and walk toward it.

Rat races cut across education, occupation and career, religion, and relationships. I have been in them, in fact, I still know some that I am in at the moment. But I do not desire to remain in them. I often evaluate my actions and ask myself in every aspect of my life if I am caught up in a rat race. What I want to see is progress in every area – all cylinders firing.

I suggest you ask yourself if you are in a rat race or a progress race.